Chigoziem Okonkwo

#9 · TE · Jr. · Maryland6′2″ · 244 lb · Powder Springs, GA · Hillgrove

Chigoziem Okonkwo: TE · Maryland · #9.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Brenton StrangePenn State · 2020 · 78% season match
Dorian FlemingGeorgia State · 2024 · 74% season match
Jeremiah HallOklahoma · 2021 · 67% season match
Ryan JonesEast Carolina · 2021 · 62% season match
Brant KuitheUtah · 2021 · 60% season match

Chigoziem Okonkwo

TE · Maryland · Jr · #9

Shows up in the passing game from any alignment. The three seasons at Maryland span two head coaches: Matt Canada and Mike Locksley. A game that shows it: 112 receiving yards and 8 receptions against Michigan State — Week 11, 2021.

Style of play

Play style

No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Maryland in the news

Maryland fires coach Michael LocksleyOct 26
Maryland fires defensive coordinatorThe Washington Post Oct 19
Joyner receives probation before judgmentOct 15

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2021	Maryland	52	447	8.6	5	32
2019	Maryland	19	201	10.6	2	23
2018	Maryland	6	69	11.5	1	25
Career		77	717	9.3	8	32

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 30-24vs West Virginia	3	20	6.7	1	18
Wk 2	W 62-0vs Howard	1	2	2.0	1	2
Wk 4	W 37-16vs Kent State	4	44	11.0	0	24
Wk 5	L 14-51vs No. 5 Iowa	3	23	7.7	1	9
Wk 6	L 17-66@ No. 7 Ohio State	5	56	11.2	0	15
Wk 8	L 16-34@ Minnesota	2	30	15.0	0	21
Wk 9	W 38-35vs Indiana	2	2	1.0	0	5
Wk 10	L 14-31vs No. 22 Penn State	12	85	7.1	0	15
Wk 11	L 21-40@ No. 8 Michigan State	8	112	14.0	2	32	Season-high 112 yds
Wk 12	L 18-59vs No. 8 Michigan	5	36	7.2	0	11
Wk 13	W 40-16@ Rutgers	4	23	5.8	0	7
Total		49	433	8.8	5	32

Signature game

Week 11 · 2021

L 21-40

at Michigan State

8 rec · 112 yds · 2 TD

With T. Tagovailoa — 350 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 45.0 · 12 rush yds (10 car) · A. Pecorella — 38.3 yards per punt · 3 punts · 3 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 11 · Michigan State · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.87Tagovailoa to Okonkwo: a 32-yard touchdown pass.
Week 11 · Michigan State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.87Tagovailoa to Okonkwo: a 32-yard touchdown pass.
Week 1 · West Virginia · 2nd and 8 · Q1 · EPA +2.82Taulia Tagovailoa pass complete to Chigoziem Okonkwo for 18 yds for a TD, (Joseph Petrino KICK)
Week 6 · Ohio State · 3rd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.77Taulia Tagovailoa pass complete to Chigoziem Okonkwo for 11 yds to the Mary 48 for a
Week 8 · Minnesota · 2nd and 11 · Q1 · EPA +2.60Taulia Tagovailoa pass complete to Chigoziem Okonkwo for 21 yds to the Mary 45 for a
Week 5 · Iowa · 1st and 9 · Q1 · EPA +2.42Taulia Tagovailoa pass complete to Chigoziem Okonkwo for 9 yds for a TD (Joseph Petrino KICK)

4 more plays

Week 4 · Kent State · 1st and 15 · Q1 · EPA +2.39Taulia Tagovailoa pass complete to Chigoziem Okonkwo for 24 yds to the Mary 43 for a
Week 10 · Penn State · 2nd and 7 · Q2 · EPA +1.65Taulia Tagovailoa pass complete to Chigoziem Okonkwo for 15 yds to the PnSt 37 for a
Week 6 · Ohio State · 2nd and 6 · Q4 · EPA +1.44Taulia Tagovailoa pass complete to Chigoziem Okonkwo for 11 yds to the Mary 40 for a
Week 12 · Michigan · 2nd and 5 · Q1 · EPA +1.41Taulia Tagovailoa pass complete to Chigoziem Okonkwo for 11 yds to the Mary 48 for a

Teams and coaches

2018Maryland5-7HC: Matt Canada · Run-heavy, slow tempo

2019Maryland3-9HC: Mike Locksley · Run-leaning

2021Maryland7-6HC: Mike Locksley · Balanced, fast tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 64 (#20 of 119). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2021 season

64Quality starter #20 of 119 · 2021?

10 metrics · season cumulative

2021 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: receptions (94th percentile). Strength: rec tds (85th percentile). Concern: yards / catch (14th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Catch rate#198 / 655 · 69th pct

81.0%

TD rate#226 / 655 · 66th pct

7.9%

EPA / target#359 / 655 · 45th pct

0.61

Explosive rate#509 / 655 · 22nd pct

7.9%

Yards / catch#564 / 655 · 14th pct

8.8

Box-score rates (5)

Receptions#9 / 146 · 94th pct

Rec TDs#19 / 146 · 85th pct

Rec yards#27 / 146 · 82nd pct

447

Long catch#80 / 146 · 44th pct

Yards / catch#126 / 146 · 14th pct

8.6

Season trend

EPA / target— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Explosive rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Catch rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

TD rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Yards / catch— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2021. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home7g	4.3	30.3	6.1	0.4
Road4g	4.8	55.2	11.5	0.5

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	3.2	29.0	7.7	0.6
Weeks 8+6g	5.5	48.0	8.3	0.3

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2021 season

Head Coach

Mike Locksley

Pass share

53.3%

489 pass / 428 run

Plays / game

76.4

12 games

Team sack rate

4.7%

512 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Impact starter

52 catches in 11 games, more catches a game than nearly every FBS tight end who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

64 · #20 of 119 TEs · 2021

Three-star recruit. Now #20 at the position.

Chigoziem Okonkwo

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Maryland in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

Impact starter

Four seasons at Maryland, drafted

2018 8 games

2022